Local connections to Boston Red Sox GM Ben CheringtonGeneral manager No. 11 in Boston Red Sox history, Ben Cherington has a baseball connection to Amherst College from the 1990's. Cherington's college coach talks to ABC about his pitching and his potential as a manager. Cherington also received his graduate degree at UMass.

BOSTON – Fenway Park was eerily silent and still Tuesday
afternoon - nothing like the jubilant atmosphere that fans on Chicago's
North Side have enjoyed since learning that Theo
Epstein was taking over as the Cubs president of baseball operations.

The wunderkind's departure from Red Sox Nation was made
official Tuesday when Ben Cherington, also a New England native but hardly the
rock star Epstein was, took the podium to introduce himself to the region as
the Boston Red Sox new general manager. Even he poked fun at the
circumstances.

"Thanks to those of you that avoided the flight to Chicago and
stayed here today," he joked.

Part of the reason that the fanfare has been minimal is
because Cherington, 37, has learned at the foot of Epstein and will continue
down the path that has been paved for him since many of their baseball philosophies
are similar.

Cherington, who broke into baseball in the Cleveland Indians
organization in the late '90s, noted that he was in favor of many of the moves that fans
have recently lamented, including the signing of Carl Crawford, and that those
hoping for radical philosophical changes will be disappointed.

Statistical analysis will continue to play a major role in
making personnel decisions and the team will continue to place a major emphasis
on scouting with the hope that the two sides battle it out at the conference
table.

But while he and Epstein share similarities, Cherington, who used to drive from New Hampshire to attend games at Fenway with his grandmother as a boy, also
pointed out that the majority of his 14 years in baseball were spent as a scout,
while his predecessor came up in the front office, meaning that their views on
certain players and topics at times differed. He also readily admits that the team has to do better at evaluating free agents.

"I can't play guitar, thought maybe some day I'd learn but I
can't yet, and I don't have a gorilla suit," Cherington said when asked how he
differs from Epstein. "I think we share a lot in common as far as our general
philosophy in putting a team together."

Following a September swoon that was the worst baseball has
ever seen, the Sox don't need a maverick to preside over a system overhaul, as
Epstein will be asked to do in Chicago.

Cherington's first and primary task will be to clean up the
underlying issues that sank Boston's talented roster, which he says will begin
with finding manager Terry Francona's replacement.

Francona, who stepped down from his post after the season,
was undermined by dissension in the clubhouse, which at times included players
drinking during games on their days off. Cherington is hoping to bring
in a manager with a strong voice to fix those issues and create a climate that creates chemistry.

He said that he has already narrowed his list of candidates
down to a "handful" and hopes to start bringing them in for interviews soon. He
noted that previous managerial experience would be a benefit, but is not a
prerequisite.

"I want someone who cares about players but is also willing
and ready to have tough conversations with them," Cherington said. "I want
someone who can collaborate with the front office and ownership, but is also
willing to make an argument when he disagrees. I want someone who has a passion
for the game and I want someone who can create a culture in the clubhouse
allows everyone in the clubhouse – players, coaches, medical staff – to feel empowered to do their jobs."

He will also have to make decisions regarding the futures of
free agents Jonathan Papelbon and David Ortiz, both of whom he said he would like to retain.

As far as right field is concerned, J.D. Drew will be
allowed to walk and Josh Reddick and Ryan Kalish will be given an opportunity
to win the job.

Another offseason goal, especially in lieu of the
announcement that John Lackey will be undergoing Tommy John surgery in the
coming weeks, will be to add starting pitching depth. Cherington said he would like to find some financially efficient options in the mold of Alfredo Aceves to fulfill those roles.

He will also have to negotiate with Epstein on what
compensation the Red Sox receive for the Cubs hiring him and noted that his
former boss has yet to attempt to hire away any members of his former staff. If they are unable to reach an amicable agreement, both sides are ready to hand the issue over the Major League Baseball.

"Either way, we're both moving forward," Cherington said.

Cherington, a former Amherst College pitcher under Bill
Thurston and UMass student, takes the helm under circumstances that were vastly
different than those that met Epstein in 2002.

There was no talent search that put him on their Yawkey Way
doorstep as there was back then, when the team originally landed Oakland A's
general manager Billy Beane, only to turn to Epstein, who was considered a
rising star within the organization, after Beane decided to pass on the job in
final hours.

Cherington, who briefly served as the co-general manager
alongside Jed Hoyer in 2005 when Epstein stepped down, has been being groomed
for this role for a few years. As Epstein revealed in an editorial
published in the Boston Globe on Tuesday, the plan was for him to take over
following the 2012 season.

Team president Larry Lucchino said Cherington won his approval
after seeing how he interacted with his colleagues and presided over
draft day, as well as how players he pushed for, such as Adrian Beltre,
performed in Boston.

Because of that, the transition was quick and the new general manager says that he's ready to
take on whatever challenges the city of Boston, which can chew up the best of men, throws at him.

"I think I would have probably gone anywhere to work in
baseball when I was coming out of college, I would have went anywhere to get a
job," Cherington said. "But I sure was lucky to get an opportunity with the team
that I grew up rooting for."